270 AVES : MACEOCHIRES. XLV. 



449. CHORDEILES Swainson. (xptyi a musical instrument ; 

 dd\T), evening.) 



856. C. virginianus (Gmelin). NIGHT HAWK. BULL BAT. 

 Blackish, barred and mottled with grayish and buffy ; a large wing 

 spot, bar across tail, and V-shaped blotch on throat white in <, 

 tawny or obscure in 9 > the wing spot placed in front of tip of 7th 

 quill. L. l). W. 8. T. 5. N. Am., very abundant, flying high 

 in evening or cloudy weather. 



FAMILY CLXI. MICROPODID^E. (THE SWIFTS.) 



Bill fissirostral, as in the Goatsuckers and Swallows. Wings 

 very long, thin and pointed ; secondaries very short. Feet small, 

 weak ; hind toe often elevated or otherwise turned ; toes com- 

 pletely cleft ; middle claw not pectinate ; no rictal bristles ; tail 

 feathers 10; plumage compact. In most species the salivary 

 glands are highly developed, and their secretion is used as a glue 

 in the construction of the nest ; species of Coliocalia in China thus 

 form the edible bird's nest. Small birds of the warmer parts of 

 the world, bearing a superficial resemblance to Swallows, but struc- 

 turally very different, being closely related to the Humming Birds, 

 nearer to them even than to the Goatsuckers. Genera 6 or 8 ; 

 species 50. (/u*poy, small ; TTOVS, foot.) 



a. Tarsus bare, longer than middle toe ; tail rounded, its feathers with the 

 shafts spinous, projecting beyond the plumage . . . CH.ETURA, 450. 



450. CEL2ETURA Stephens. (XCUTJ;, bristle ; ovpd, tail.) 



857. C. pelagica (L.). CHIMNEY SWIFT. CHIMNEY SWAL- 

 LOW. Sooty brown ; throat paler. L. 5^. W. 5. T. 2. E. N. Am. 

 abundant ; now nesting in chimneys, as formerly in hollow-trees. 



FAMILY CLXII. TROCHILID^J. (THE HUMMING BIRDS.) 



Bill subulate, usually longer than the head, straight or curved ; 

 tongue capable of great protrusion. Wings long and pointed, the 

 secondaries short, only 6 in number ; tail of 10 feathers. Feet 

 very small, with long sharp claws. Smallest of all birds and among 

 the most brilliantly colored. Genera 75 ; species 300 or more, one 

 of the largest families in Ornithology. All are American, and most 

 of them tropical, but our common species ranges far into Canada. 

 Chiefly insectivorous ; not musical. 



a. First primary not attenuate, bowed or curved inwards ; bill straight; frontal 

 feathers covering nasal scale ......... TROCHILUS, 451. 



451. TROCHILUS Linnaeus. (rpo^i'Xos, plover.) 



858. T. colubris L. RUBY-THROATED HUMMING BIRD. $ 

 metallic green above; a ruby-red gorget ; tail deeply forked, 



